Sand Or Chipps?

[howling_greywolf]

What is better for cories? Sand or a kind of flaky gravel/sand? I've got the playsand but it looks so dirty, the other stuff is 7.99 for a 50g bag! To much I think

 

[howling_greywolf]

If I add sand how long should I let it stand for befor adding the fish? I think I will try the play sand anyway it was only 4$

 

[howling_greywolf]

*bounce*

 

[geo7x]

I prefer the look of sand (it's a matter of opinion) , but if you have an undergravel filter it could complicate things. remember to wash playsand before adding it.

 

[BigIan]

corys love sand they spend all day rooting through it, it is a swine to keep clean, (you can bet that as soon as you vac it the fish crap over it again)
but it looks so much more natural than gravel, especialy if you throw some pebbles in too

 

[Qays]

corys love sand they spend all day rooting through it, it is a swine to keep clean, (you can bet that as soon as you vac it the fish crap over it again)
but it looks so much more natural than gravel, especialy if you throw some pebbles in too

is it hard too clean, and do you waste sand when vacuuming? Also, does mess get buried?

 

[Captain Retardo]

is it hard too clean, and do you waste sand when vacuuming? Also, does mess get buried?

No it is not hard to clean (from what I've heard), If you do it right you wont siphon up any sand (takes practice) mess does not get buried, it stays on the top, that is why it is easier to take care of, but it might looks bad with loads of fish poop on the substrate.

 

[Qays]

yeah, unless you have small patches of gravel in which case it would look natural, unless you have heavy pooping fish! Those can be netted out easily without a siphon though...

Also, many people say its hard too clean. i wonder why?

 

[flumpit2]

give me sand any day!!!the corys love it and it cant do any damage to there barbles.plus i find it sooo much easier to keep clean as all the poop & any left over food stays on the surface & can be removed with either a net of vac.with gavel all the crap goes into the gravel & its alot harder to clean.do not put it inthicker than 2cm tho or you could get poisonous gases build up unless you move it around regular.

if you use play sand make sure you wash it really well first.i put mine in a bucket,filled it with water & swished it around with my hand.i waited about 10 seconds then tipped the water away along with any dirt,dust & fine gravel that would cloud up the tank water.i done this about 10 times in all until the water was clean that i was tipping away.the cleaner you can get it the less chance of it clouding your tank. shaz

 

[Qays]

cool! Thanks, you swayed my decision on a sand substrate

 

[howling_greywolf]

Thanx all! I"m adding the sand tonight so we shall see if ll goes well. ROFLMFAO! MY SAND IS HEAVY!

 

[jammerone34]

Thanx all! I"m adding the sand tonight so we shall see if ll goes well. ROFLMFAO! MY SAND IS HEAVY!

i tried play sand and hated it then i got a broken bag of silica sand much better to work with and was worth the little extra i paid for a 80 lb bag

 

[flumpit2]

another tip is to add the sand when its still quite wet,i leave about 2cm of water in the top of the bucket with it so its really wet as it seems to settle & you can spread it out better.also when you first fill a tank with water put a shallow bowl of some sort in the bottom of the tank and tip the water into that.as it over flows the bowl it will cause less disturbance to the sand than pouring the water straight onto the sand,thus theres less chance of the water going cloudy.make sure you wash it really well first tho & tip away any sand thats floating as this is what makes tanks go cloudy.its better to over wash the sand just to make sure rather than do a quick wash & end up with a cloudy tank for a week or so!

once youv switched to sand & see all the crap that sits on the top of it,it will suprise you & make you realise just how much crap actualy goes into your gravel & how it is almost impossible to keep gravel totaly clean!!!

goodluck & let us know how it goes.

shaz

 

[howling_greywolf]

I added sand and it's not to bad. My goldfish are covered in sand wich might be bad. I don't really know. I have a black kuhli loach too. He just zooms up and down the glass.

 

[guppy_man]

i have fine gravel in my tank which looks alot like sand, i added a khuli loach about 2 weeks ago and i haven't seen it since lol, they root in the gravel, and so do the peppered corys